This invention relates to a control device for an automatic vending machine, and more specifically to a control device for an automatic vending machine adapted to perform selling operations while setting the selling prices of commodities to be sold into non-volatile memory means such as a magnetic memory or a semiconductor memory backed-up with an electric cell or the like.
Known price setters for automatic vending machines include those having digital switches disposed for setting every selling price or every selling column, or having ten data input or function keys for non-volatile memory means to perform setting of every selling price or selling column. Further, in the automatic vending machine, a coin-processing section for judging the authenticity of deposited coins, calculating the sum of the deposited money, judging the possibility for the sale by comparing the sum of the deposited money and the set selling price of the chosen commodity to issue a "sale possible" signal, and discharging the difference between the sum of the deposited money and the value of the sold commodity as a balance is collected in one unit (hereinafter referred as a coin meck), and the outer dimension and the signal transmission system thereof are standardized. Thus, since the price setter is large, when it is located in the coin meck it cannot be operated from the front of the coin meck in view of the dimensional restriction. That is, since the price setter is disposed within the coin meck, a coin selector has to be removed when setting the prices. Furthermore, in the machines which use ten keys, although various settings and selling operation changes have been made by function keys, the operability is poor possibly leading to misoperation.